Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network.

Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen
Donate
Podcasts Take Two
School Security: LAPD ramps up patrols at LA elementary and middle schools
solid orange rectangular banner
()
Take Two Logo
Dec 17, 2012
Listen • 6:22
School Security: LAPD ramps up patrols at LA elementary and middle schools
As parents dropped their kids off at school today, one thought ran through nearly everyone's mind: Will my child be safe?
Students and police watch teachers, parents and students chanting slogans on a picket line outside Crenshaw High School to protest teacher layoffs planned by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in Los Angeles on May 15, 2009. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled on May 14 a state budget proposal which called for 9 billion USD in cuts, of which as much as 5 billion dollars could come from school spending.
Students and police watch teachers, parents and students chanting slogans on a picket line outside Crenshaw High School to protest teacher layoffs planned by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in Los Angeles on May 15, 2009.
(
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
)

As parents dropped their kids off at school today, one thought ran through nearly everyone's mind: Will my child be safe?

As parents dropped their kids off at school today, one thought ran through nearly everyone's mind: Will my child be safe?

The Los Angeles Unified School district is the second largest district in the nation, so keeping all of its campuses secure is no easy feat, especially in the midst of budget cuts. 

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck is expected to announce a plan later this afternoon to step up patrols at elementary and middle schools. At a graduation ceremony of the police department's cadet program yesterday, Beck said he wants LAPD officers to visit elementary and middle schools at least once a day. 

Producer Mary Plummer has been talking with parents at McKinley Elementary School in Pasadena about their feelings as they dropped off their kids this morning. Plus, Jill Barnes, coordinator for the Office of Emergency Services for the L.A. Unified, joins the show to talk about the security protocols currently in place at LAUSD schools.